Ex Parte Dando - Page 4



                 Appeal 2007-0086                                                                                     
                 Application 10/845,785                                                                               

                        An imprecise term of degree, such as “substantially,” does not                                
                 automatically render a claim indefinite.  Seattle Box v. Indus. Crating &                            
                 Packing, Inc., 731 F.2d 818, 826, 221 USPQ 568, 573-74 (Fed. Cir. 1981).                             
                 Whether the claim is indefinite depends upon whether the Specification                               
                 provides some standard for measuring the degree of the term such that an                             
                 artisan would understand what is claimed when the claim is read in light of                          
                 the Specification.  Id.  Therefore, the § 112, 2d ¶, question raised by an                           
                 imprecise term such as “substantially” is fact-dependent by its nature.  Id.,                        
                 731 F.2d at 829, 221 USPQ at 576.                                                                    
                        The Examiner is correct that the phrase “substantially cured,” though                         
                 recited in the Specification at page 11, line 23, is not accompanied by any                          
                 definition or guidance as to the meaning of “substantially.”  The Appellants                         
                 state that “[p]ersons skilled in the art would appreciate that to be                                 
                 ‘substantially cured,’ the shape would be capable of being removed from the                          
                 mold while maintaining its desired shape” (Br. 7).  However, no evidence                             
                 has been proffered in support of this statement.                                                     
                        Moreover, the statement is not compatible with the Specification                              
                 disclosure.  This is because the afore-quoted meaning ascribed to                                    
                 “substantially cured” in the Brief is described in the Specification, at page 1,                     
                 as relating to foundry shapes after the striptime has elapsed (ll. 25-31).  On                       
                 the other hand, the Specification at page 2 describes foundry shapes as                              
                 “cured” when they can be used for casting metals (ll. 3-4).  Therefore,                              


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